MANILA, Philippines - New guidelines released by state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) have forced Henry Sy-controlled upscale property developer Belle Corp. to delay by more than a year the opening of its casino and hotel complex inside the Entertainment City in Manila.

Belle Chairman Willy Ocier said they will open "Belle Grande Manila Bay" in the later half of 2013 rather than the original schedule of second quarter of 2012.

Belle CFO Manuel Gana said Pagcor changed the number of hotel rooms required of all developers in the integrated casino and tourism hub.

"We were expecting to do a soft open this year until Pagcor released new guidelines requiring (each locator to offer) at least 800 hotel rooms," he said.

The push-back means another locator, Bloomberry Resorts Corp., led by Enrique Razon Jr., will be the first to launch a casino in Entertainment City, with an expected first-quarter 2013 opening.

"We were hoping to be the first to open in Pagcor city but that was before Pagcor issued the new guidelines," said Gana. "(Now) we hope to be able to open next year."

Belle's casino-hotel project will rise on a 3.67-hectare property, across another 2.5-hectare lot where Belle is set to build a mall.

There will be 800 rooms spread across 6-, 5- and 4-star hotels carrying three brands. The hotels will sit on top of the casino gaming floor.

The mall, meanwhile, "will probably not be 100% complete until 2014," said Ocier.

MANILA, Philippines—Leisure estate and gaming firm Belle Corp. plans to open its casino in Pagcor City “sometime next year” and is now awaiting an additional P3-billion fund-raising by partner Leisure and Resorts World Corp. to build the hotel portfolio required by the government.

Belle vice chairman Willy Ocier told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting that LR would have to undertake a second round of financing to meet the front-loading of expenses arising from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s requirement to gaming licensees that an 800-room hotel portfolio must be up and running before the casino itself could start operations.

“They (LR) have to go through another round of cash raising. Talks are ongoing for them to actually come up with the part 2 financing to beef up equity and operational capacity but I can’t say who,” Ocier said.

Ocier said LR was supposed to come up with another P3 billion on top of its existing P3 billion in funds from equity (P1 billion) and bank financing (P2 billion). Altogether, he said LR would need P6 billion to finish the interior and fit-out of the facility and boost operating capital to operate the whole complex.

“So far, (there’s) no amendment on our arrangement but they need to fix up their side. We want to be convinced that the financing is in place. Remember that LR and its operators will be leasing the premises form us and then we’ll be sharing in the EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization],” Ocier said.

Under the arrangement, the LR group will get 15 percent of net winnings, or 50 percent of the casino’s cash flow (as measured by EBITDA), whichever is higher.

For its part, Belle has raised P4.5 billion from a stock rights offering and raised another P4.2 billion in debt financing which has not been fully drawn yet. This funding is deemed sufficient to keep its commitment on this project, Ocier said.

Belle Grande is being constructed on more than six hectares of land in a central area in the Aseana Business Park in Parañaque City. It will have a total gaming area of 1.8 hectares surrounded by food and beverage outlets, with luxury retail stores at the margins.

The company broke ground on the mall component in February and is expected to complete the retail complex by 2014. This mall will have 60,000 to 90,000 square meters of retail space. The mall will also have a world-class performing arts theater.

Belle vice chairman Willy Ocier said in an interview following the annual stockholders’ meeting the company would start next week the construction of the shopping mall within the 2.5-hectare Belle Grande complex.

The mall will have a gross floor area of 260,000 to 290,000 square meters and is scheduled for completion by 2014.

Ocier said the shopping mall, which will also have a world-class performing arts theater, will target the high-end market.

“The shopping mall will complement the planned casino operations and will not compete with the SM Mall of Asia, which is very near the area,” Ocier said.

The Belle Grande, which is scheduled to open next year, will have 880 hotel rooms under three brands of five-star and six-star quality and gaming area spanning 19,626 square meters.

updated photos April 23, 2012 Monday taken by me, at Roxas Blvd. going south bound

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updated photos April 23, 2012 taken by me at Macapagal boulevard going north bound

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MANILA, Philippines—Leisure estate and gaming company Belle Corp. grew its first-quarter net profit by 4.9 percent to P52.47 million on higher interest income, foreign exchange gain and equity in net earnings of associates.
In a regulatory filing, Belle reported that revenues for the first quarter dropped by 51.5 percent to P96.94 million due to a decline in the sale of real estate and club shares.

“The company has been devoting significant resources to development activities connected with Belle Grande Manila Bay, its integrated resort project located in Parañaque City, which is targeted for its grand opening during 2013,” Belle said in its quarterly report.

On the other hand, Belle’s first-quarter results were boosted by the increase in interest income to P28.9 million from only P300,000 year on year, in turn due to increases in cash levels in anticipation of requirements for the Belle Grande hotel-casino project. This cash level included a $50-million deposit required to be maintained under the license issued by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., of Pagcor.

The significant increase in 2012 deposit levels was funded mainly by new long-term loan drawdowns amounting to P2.2 billion, which funded the escrow deposit required by Pagcor and the last installment of its stock rights offering.

Belle’s share in the net earnings from associated companies also increased by 2 percent to P38.1 million during the first quarter from a year ago, due mainly from its 35 percent-owned associate Pacific Online Systems Corp.
A foreign exchange gain of P15.9 million was also posted in the first quarter, 61 percent higher than the forex windfall in the same period a year ago. The gains were mostly derived from its foreign currency-denominated debt paper due 2014 and worth $22 million.

Belle posted positive consolidated retained earnings of P390.7 million as of end-March.

snapshots taken by me April 26, 2012 Thursday, going south bound at Roxas Blvd.

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just flew out of NAIA3 yesterday morning and I didn't realize that this can be seen from the terminal while waiting for boarding and so is Solaire.. nice..

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